It might be surprising to discover that, despite being a life simulator, one of the most important parts ofThe Simsseries is the lore regarding the pre-made families, the presence of the occults, and the timeline. Even as early asThe Sims, lore played a fundamental part ofThe Simsexperience for many players, though it was inThe Sims 2that the lore expanded and a proper timeline was established. Players were happy to follow the events of this timeline until the launch ofThe Sims 4, which broke with tradition.
While previous releases inThe Simsseries followed the same timeline, albeit in a non-linear fashion,The Sims 4was rather set in an alternate universe where none of the events from the previous games had happened. This was an incredibly controversial and widely unpopular move, as it meant removing many fan-favorite pre-made families such asThe Simstutorial family. In addition to removingThe Sims 4from the original timeline, many aspects of the lore became superficial inThe Sims 4, rarely going further than the family bio.
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The Sims Still Has Mysteries to Solve
In addition toremoving popular families integral toThe Simslore, many of the mysteries surrounding the pre-made families such as the Bella Goth drama have been abandoned in favor of the new alternate timeline. Players who were expecting some kind of resolution to the drama instead have been given a world where some of the most compelling events ofThe Simsnever existed. This leaves many questions that won’t be answered unlessThe Sims 5returns toThe Sims' original timeline, instead of sticking toThe Sims 4’s alternate reality.
The disappearance of Bella Gothset up a massive conspiracy that spanned worlds inThe Sims 2, and its legacy continued intoThe Sims 3. The different families created a legacy of lore in The Sims, and all of that was completely abandoned whenThe Sims 4was set in an alternate timeline. Abandoning one of the most popular parts of a series wasn’t a popular move among players, andThe Sims 5needs to return to the original timeline to reassert its place.
The Sims 4 Broke Lore That Simmers Wanted to Keep
One of the most frustrating parts about the lore ofThe Sims 4is how shallow it is: character and family bios will state that certain Sims have relationships with each other and other households, when in reality the Sims don’t know each other at all. The exception to this rule areSims who are married to each other, which feels weirdly old-fashioned for a series that markets itself as progressive, but it also gets really weird in some instances with some unfortunate consequences.
For example,Johnny Zest is the disinherited child of the Landgraabs, yet he doesn’t appear on their family tree, nor do any of the Landgraabs or Johnny have any relationship with each other, even a negative one. The lore inThe Sims 4is so perfunctory that it’s possible for Johnny Zest to enter a romantic relationship with his immediate family members. This is because, unlike previous games inThe Sims, pre-made Sim families' relationships largely aren’t acknowledged beyond the family bio.
The Sims 5needs to fix these parts of the lore, and preferably make a return to the original timeline to resolve the lore questions and mysteries introduced earlier in the series. These fixes need to include gameplay, so that lore mentioned in family bios and descriptions are carried through in live mode, creating a better experience for players that doesn’t feel superficial and something they can get invested in and play through themselves.
